In an episode of the Viaplay series “Börje”, the Toronto Toros try to get the brothers Börje and Stig Salming to play together, but Stig turned down the offer.
Some who went to the WHA were Anders Hedberg, “Lill-Pröjsarn” and Lars-Erik Sjöberg, who all ended up in the Winnipeg Jets in 1974.
Just like Börje Salming, they became guideposts for European players in North America.
– The first year we had everyone against us. The opponents, the referees and also the fellow players, says “Lill-Pröjsarn”.
– The Canadians were not happy that foreigners came and took their jobs. We also brought in goalkeeper Curre Larsson and two Finns, so we were six Europeans that year. But it got better with time and we always had the support of Bobby Hull who was the one who decided in the club.
Today’s NHL players have the players in the WHA to thank for their big paychecks. Photo: Ali Lorestani
The NHL was founded in 1917 and was unthreatened as a league until 1972. Then the WHA, World Hockey Association, swept into North American hockey like a storm.
Old NHL profiles lured over with fantasy salaries. The biggest star of the time, Bobby Hull, was signed from Chicago on a ten-year contract that had not been seen before: Five years as a player or coach, five years as a PR man for the league. All twelve WHA clubs agreed to jointly pay for his contract.
It basically became the starting point for the rush of money in North American hockey and better conditions for the players. The nearly 90 Swedes currently in the NHL – where the minimum salary is SEK 7.5 million per year – have a lot to thank for, Hull mentioned.
Before the premiere season bought WHA over 69 players from the NHL. The Philadelphia Blazers made Derek Sanderson the highest paid athlete in the world. Czechoslovak star Vaclav Nedomansky joined the WHA, as did legend Gordie Howe who played 32 seasons as a pro. A spectacular signing – Howe played with sons Mark and Marty in the Houston Aeros and won the league in 1974.
Gordie Howe played with his sons Marty and Mark for the Houston Aeros and later the New England Whalers. Photo: Ed Kolenovsky/AP
The WHA had shown they meant business.
The NHL was shaken, although they looked down on the competitor.
The WHA was ahead of the NHL when it came to scouting Europeans and Americans. There was also a clause to be able to sign underage players, which later opened up future superstars like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. The WHA was also the first to play sudden death in the event of a tie after three periods.
“The hot line”: Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and Bobby Hull. Photo: Lennart Månsson/Bildbyrån
“Life is about surrounding yourself with the right people.”
The team that came to dominate league was the Winnipeg Jets. It developed into a purely Swedish team with Anders Hedberg and “Lill-Pröjsarn” Nilsson as pioneers. Together with Bobby Hull, they formed the “Hot line”, which is still considered one of the best hockey chains of all time.
– Life is about surrounding yourself with the right people, says “Lill-Pröjsarn” with a smile.
– I was more of a striker, Anders and Bobby were fantastic scorers. Already at the first practice, it was like music when we played together. Wayne Gretzky has said that he and Glen Sather built the Edmonton Oilers dynasty on the model of the Winnipeg Jets, and that our chain is the best he’s seen.
In the first season, the chain scored a combined 362 points. During the four years in the Jets, “Lill-Pröjsarn” accounted for an improbable 551 points in 342 games in the regular season and playoffs. Anders Hedberg was noted for 521 points, of which 271 goals.
– Bobby was more European in his playing style with position changes and therefore wanted to play with us. Many people over there did not understand that style. I think we changed ice hockey with the way we played. Not only in North America, but in the rest of the world, because the Russians have opened their eyes to the fact that you may have to be a little tougher and straighter in your game.
In the raw North American hockey was gradually given more space for skilled players. But the Swedes had to take a lot of beating on the ice. The Minnesota Fighting Saints lived up to their name and the rawhides of the Birmingham Bulls were notorious.
– It was slashing, cross-checking and all the tricks in the book. Before a match against Birmingham, I got a cross-checking in the back so that the club came off in the middle. They wanted to start a fight in the warm-up. We didn’t bow down, but we also basically had orders from Bobby Hull and management not to fight.
Ulf “Lill-Pröjsarn” Nilsson scored 551 points in the Winnipeg Jets jersey. Photo: Ali Lorestani
How good was the WHA?
– We may not have been as good as the top teams in the NHL, but we had managed very well. In the practice matches against the NHL teams, we won.
The Winnipeg Jets also came Thommie Bergman, Dan Labraaten (24 points in the 1977 playoffs), Willy Lindström, Mats Lindh and Kenta Nilsson.
Other Swedish profiles in the league were the twins Christer and Thommy Abrahamsson in the New England Whalers. Star goaltender Leif “Honken” Holmkvist made a brief guest appearance in Indianapolis in 1975. Ulf Sterner had offers from Quebec and the Chicago Cougars, but declined.
The Jets became champions in 1976, 1978 and 1979. In the fourth and final final game in 1976, when Winnipeg defeated Houston 9-1, “Lill-Pröjsarn” got a club tip in the eye. When his teammates celebrated the title, he was in hospital with a patch over his eye.
Sight was saved. But Ulf Nilsson has gone through a lot of trouble over the years.
– I broke my foot in February during the first season with the New York Rangers, which was probably my best. I have had both knees and right hip replaced. Now I have operated on the right shoulder and will do the left as well. Being an elite athlete means rallying with your body, but I was careful to protect my skull, he says.
After the Winnipeg Jets second WHA title In 1978, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson thought they had experienced everything in the WHA and went to the New York Rangers. There they became the best paid players and were in the top ten in terms of salary among all athletes in North America.
– We had 600,000 dollars a year. It was very good money, but you have to remember that the dollar stood at four to five kroner at the time. And the salaries have taken off enormously since then, says “Lill-Pröjsarn” who stayed four years at Rangers, three fewer than Hedberg.
It turned out to be the right time for the duo to leave the WHA. The clubs were bleeding financially.
At most there had been 14 clubs in the league. In 1978–79 it was down to seven.
The last year of the WHA was also the first of Wayne Gretzky’s professional career. The NHL at the time did not allow players under the age of 20, which opened the door for a 17-year-old Gretzky in the WHA. He debuted with the Indianapolis Racers before being signed to the Edmonton Oilers, where he built a career that is considered the greatest in hockey history.
Wayne Gretzky spent ten seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. The first in the WHA. Photo: AP
In 1979 the league was discontinued. The New England Whalers were one of four WHA clubs to enter the NHL which has since steadily expanded to the current 32 teams.
New England founder and WHA strongman Howard Baldwin has summed up the WHA as “a successful failure”.
For “Lill-Pröjsarn”, however, there is no doubt where he enjoyed his hockey career best:
– My best memories are from the WHA and Winnipeg, he says.
Facts. The Swedes in the WHA
Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson, Thommie Bergman, Lars-Erik Sjöberg, Then Labraaten, Kenta Nilsson, Willy Lindström, Curt Larsson, Roland Eriksson and Mats Lindhalla Winnipeg Jets.
Christian and Tommy AbrahamssonNew England Whalers.
Juha WidingEdmonton Oilers.
Leif “Honken” HolmqvistIndianapolis Racers.
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Facts. Big stars who played in the WHA
Bobby Hull (Winnipeg Jets)
Gordie Howe (Houston Aeros och New England Whalers)
Vaclav Nedomansky (Toronto Toros and Birmingham Bulls)
Wayne Gretzky (Indianapolis Racers and Edmonton Oilers)
Mark Messier (Cincinnati Stingers and Indianapolis Racers)
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Facts. The champion team in the WHA
1973: New England Whalers
1974: Houston Aeros
1975: Houston Aeros
1976: Winnipeg Jets
1977: Quebec Nordiques
1978: Winnipeg Jets
1979: Winnipeg Jets
The team that continued in the NHL:
Edmonton Oilers
Quebec Nordiques (blev senare Colorado Avalanche)
Winnipeg Jets (senare Phoenix Coyotes)
New England Whalers (later Hartford and Carolina Hurricanes).
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2023-12-26 06:06:33
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